Black man’s death no longer a mystery

Beaten to death in Wilmar jail

The January 7, 2018, death of 56-year-old George Edward Washington, while in police custody in the Kandiyohi County jail in Wilmar, Minnesota, is no longer the “mystery” of our column two weeks ago. The word now is “cover-up.” The family was able to recover the body the sheriff’s office tried to have cremated (to destroy the evidence) and took it back to South Carolina for a second autopsy. The first autopsy was fake, a cover-up. The second autopsy revealed he was brutally beaten to death.

Somehow, even federal authorities and the State of Minnesota refused the family’s request to investigate the circumstances regarding George Washington’s death.

The story in the Star Tribune of January 10, 2018, was in support of the investigation started by this columnist after being contacted on January 7, by the family, to learn more about George Washington’s death while in police custody in the Kandiyohi County jail.

After Mr. Washington was “found” dead in his cell in the Kandiyohi jail, the elaborate cover-up by Kandiyohi County law enforcement began.

Here is the failed sequence of trying to achieve a cover-up. His body was moved to the Anderson Funeral Home in Wilmar, Minnesota, then to Ramsey, Minnesota (Anoka County), and then to a funeral home in Northern Minnesota to cremate the body. But with tremendous tenaciousness, George Washington’s brother Joseph was able to intervene, take the body to North Carolina, and have a second autopsy performed.

Black and White forensic experts conducted the second autopsy and determined that George Edward Washington was brutally beaten to death:

• His jaw was fractured
• his nose was broken
• the side of his face had been crushed, and
• body bruises.

Add to that, a resident of Wilmar at the jail witnessed Washington’s screaming.

George Washington was only 5’7”, 139 pounds; Brutally beating him to death was easy.

As of this writing, the cover-up continues. Joseph Washington, George’s brother, acting on the behalf of his brother’s estate, has been refused access to the following documents:

• The incident report involving the arrest of George Washington for a DUI.
• The autopsy, allegedly done in Ramsey, Minnesota.
• Other pertinent information regarding George Washington’s physical condition.

George Edward Washington has now been interred. The entire attempt to cover upraised this key question: How many other times has this happened? As the philosopher, Nietzsche, wrote, “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on, I can’t believe you.”

The sheriff’s operatives thought that Mr. Washington’s body had been cremated, as they had directed. It was not until the body was on the ground in Columbia, South Carolina, that Minnesota authorities realized that the body had not been cremated.

As this column is being written, Joseph Washington is still seeking to obtain all the documentation relevant to the beating death of his brother. Joseph is a courageous man who will not be intimidated by authorities in Minnesota. Also, as of the writing of this column, where is the young lady in his company when he was arrested, who went to the jail to see about his wellbeing and was told she wasn’t allowed to see him?

Timelines are important. An audio of the conversation and statements made is evidence that could have made a difference in providing justice for George Edward Washington. Justice didn’t happen; it was denied. It was a bad day for justice in Minnesota, leaving the obvious question: What other beating deaths in Minnesota jails have been successful in being covered up?

Stay tuned.

Ron hosts radio and TV shows. To read his solutions papers, books, and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.